About this item
Part road-trip comedy and part social science experiment, a scientist and a journalist “shed fascinating light on what makes us laugh and why” (New York Post).Two guys. Nineteen experiments. Five continents. 91,000 miles. The Humor Code follows the madcap adventures and oddball experiments of Professor Peter McGraw and writer Joel Warner as they discover the secret behind what makes things funny. In their search, they interview countless comics, from Doug Stanhope to Louis CK and travel across the globe from Norway to New York, from Palestine to the Amazon. It’s an epic quest, both brainy and harebrained, that culminates at the world’s largest comedy festival where the pair put their hard-earned knowledge to the test. For the first time, they have established a comprehensive theory that answers the question “what makes things funny?” Based on original research from the Humor Research Lab (HuRL) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the pair’s experiences across the globe, The Humor Code explains the secret behind winning the New Yorker cartoon caption contest, why some dead baby jokes are funnier than others, and whether laughter really is the best medicine.
About the Author
Dr. Peter McGraw is a behavioral economist, professional speaker, and expert on the scientific study of humor.A marketing and psychology professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, McGraw investigates the interplay of emotions, judgment, and choice. His research has been covered by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, BBC, TIME, CNN, Wired, and Harvard Business Review.McGraw teaches graduate courses in behavioral economics for the University of Colorado Boulder and MBA courses in marketing management for London Business School, University of California San Diego's Rady School, and University of Colorado Boulder. He speaks at Fortune 500 companies, public events, and universities around the world.As the director of the Humor Research Lab (aka HuRL) , he has spent ten years examining the antecedents and consequences of humor. In 2014, he co-authored The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny. McGraw has written for Slate, Wired, Fortune, Huffington Post, and Psychology Today.McGraw hosts I'M NOT JOKING, a podcast that looks at the lives of funny people from entertainment, business, science, and the arts. He also hosts Funny or True? , a live comedy gameshow that pits comedians against scientists to see who has the best blend of brains and funny bone. He is currently assisting a production company to develop a TV show based on his life.
